Trinity 14 – Jesus, Master, Have Mercy – Homily 2010

On the way to Jerusalem [Jesus] was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy.’”

It took twenty years, but they were—finally—about to be treated as equals.

The most powerful force in Western Christianity was offering those upstart Lutheran reformers the opportunity to sit down with them and discuss their two opposing views of the faith.

Hopefully, this upcoming conference would bring the nasty church split to an end.

But in preparation for the meeting, the Lutherans would need to summarize their doctrine in a concise document for the representatives of Rome.

The man tasked to compose this document was peculiarly motivated:

He was dying.

Motivated because nothing focuses your mind like knowing that you have only a few weeks left to live.